Electronic dart games have become increasingly popular for commercial amusement purposes. Such games include dart board assemblies having a number of slidable apertured target segments held in a frame for striking a switch array in response to being hit by a blunt nosed dart. The various switches are interconnected with electronic scoring and readout circuitry. These games are often subjected to frequent and severe use. Improvements in ruggedness and reliability are always desirable for such applications.
In one prior art electronic dart game, the target segments were in the form of cups having a closed end wall and the apertured target plate was cemented in, and spaced from the open end of the cup. Such target segments, while performing generally satisfactorily, retained broken dart tips, were susceptible to becoming jammed in the frame upon being struck near the perimeter of the target plate and were relatively expensive to manufacture. For further information regarding the operation and structure of such a dart game, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,251.
In another electronic dart game, the target segments each had closed side walls extending rearwardly from the target plate to form an enclosed space behind the target plate. A number of rectangular protuberances were disposed on the rear surface of the side walls. The frame for the segments had walls defining target segment spaces, with the walls having guide ribs for engaging the side wall of the segment intermediate the peripheral corners of the target plate. This portion of the side wall was very flexible and a dart striking near the periphery of the plate could cause the segment to become jammed in the frame. For further information regarding the operation and structure of this dart game, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 4,516,781.